Dr Anji Reddy felicitated by IPA

Alok Agarwal
28 June 2001

"Recognition is sweet but it is sweeter when it comes from your peers and close friends." So said Dr K Anji Reddy, chairman of the Hyderabad-based Dr. Reddy''s Laboratories, at a function organised by the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) to felicitate him on being conferred the Padma Shree by the government. {The Padma Shree is a civilian award conferred by the government of India to persons who have made a significant contribution to their area of specialisation in the country.}

He was reacting to warm tributes paid to him by captains of the pharmaceutical industry, in their opening remarks/speeches.

"Overwhelmed" by all the kind words said about him, not sure that he deserved them, Dr Reddy said that the year 2001, so far, had proved to be one, in which events overtook him.

The sequence of "events overtaking him" began on 26 January when he got a call from the government, informing him that he had been awarded the Padma Shree for work done in pharmaceutical research.

This was followed by the company''s ADS issue in April, making Dr Reddy’s Laboratories the first Asian pharmaceutical company outside Japan to list on the New York stock exchange. "The inspiration for the ADS issue came to me during one of my trips to Canada. I casually mentioned to an investor there that if I had the money, I would have filed patents applications for two to three drugs", reminisced Dr Reddy. The most satisfying moment, he said, was the response the ADS offering received despite stock markets world over falling like nine pins.

The third important event was on 31 May when global pharma major, Novartis, called to inform him that they had decided to buy the exclusive rights for development and commercialisation of the diabetes molecule, DRF 4158, discovered by his company. The Swiss major was ready to pay a price of $55 million or Rs 258 crore, payment for which will be staggered over a period of time. The deal will also fetch milestone payments and if commercialised successfully, royalty payments later.